Breathe
by ItsLukasBondevik
Summary: [And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams. Is there anyone out there? ‘Cuz it's getting harder and harder to breathe.] Hinata wonders what life would be like if she never met him. [ItaHina][Minor NejiHina, SasuHina]
1. Friends?

**Title**: Breathe

**Author**: Hitachiin Hikaru

**Fandom**: Naruto

**Rating**: "T"

**Genre**: Romance/Drama

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any part of Naruto, including characters, cities, towns, scenarios, titles, or anything else about it you can think of. I just want to express my creative intent with this fic.

**Summary**: And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams. Is there anyone out there? 'Cuz it's getting harder and harder to breathe. Hinata wonders what life would be like if she never met him. HinaIta R&R Please Slight NejiHina in later chapters

**A/N**: This is definitely not canon, I know that, and I prefer her with Sasuke or Naruto if anything, but I wanted to try my hand at her with Itachi. Be kind, please?

Chapter 1: Friends?

"_Shh, it's all right Hinata-chan," a calm voice whispered to the crying girl, squeezing her hand in his consolingly_.

_That voice is so strikingly familiar that the blue haired Hyuuga thinks she must be dreaming. It is a voice she hadn't heard since she was very young; when her father had lost patience with her inept skills and ordered away for the night._

She was supposed to go to her room, but chose instead to leave the complex altogether. She couldn't stand the disappointed looks the rest of the Hyuugas shot her, knowing that she could never meet their standards. The eight-year-old had traveled to a different part of the village, near the Uchiha district, far away from her own home. Hinata found a moonlit brightened meadow to stop in, and let out a refreshing, dry sob. She buried her face in her hands, angry with herself for being so weak. Why was she so weak? She was a Main House member for goodness sake! She should be strong, like her father.

Hinata sniffed and wiped the water from her face. She didn't know how long she'd been there, only that she was cold and tired, and wanted to go home. Standing up, the little Hyuuga stretched her sore legs and began to walk through the dark woods, feeling along the familiar forest. Her Byakugan wasn't fully developed as of yet, so she had to rely on her knowledge of the woodland area that she had gathered. A few moments after departure, she ran into something, and the thing was so stationary that she rebounded. The girl would have fallen onto her rear had something not reached out and grabbed her arm.

It was a person.

"Are you all right?" a smooth, calm voice questioned, holding her upright. It was a boy, probably much older than herself, and quite a bit taller. A Konoha headband was gleaming on his forehead, so it was obvious he was a ninja. That made her feel a little bit more secure.

She sniffed, "Yes."

He pressed, "Are you lost?"

"No, I-I was j-just about t-to go h-home," she stuttered, her natural shyness getting the better of her. She was tired however, and not sure if she could make it the whole way. Suddenly, she felt herself being scooped up into the ninja's arms, and she blushed, confused and shocked.

"You're dead on your feet," he told her, running quickly out of the forest as the girl clutched to his shirt tightly. As he slowed down, the blue haired Hyuuga glanced up to see a familiar face. She wasn't well acquainted with the boy, but who in Konoha didn't know about the talented, young ANBU: Uchiha Itachi.

"U-Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked timidly, feeling extremely shy right then. She wasn't used to being talked to, nor held by, other people besides her family members. Even then, it was extremely rare, so this was a bit of an unusual experience for her. The thirteen-year-old slowed to a stop and shot Hinata a curious expression. "Wh-what are y-you d-doing out s-so late?"

"Training," he replied vaguely, sitting down on a bench with the little girl resting on his lap. He met her white eyes and then asked, "What about you?"

"Oh." She blushed madly, not wanting to dump her ridiculous problems on someone who most likely had enough trouble on his own hands. Besides, she didn't know Itachi very well, so how was she supposed to explain anything to him? "A w-walk…" It sounded more like a question, and the Uchiha saw right through it.

He chuckled. "Don't lie, Hyuuga-chan. You don't start crying on a walk. Unless you hurt yourself?" His onyx eyes examined her for any possible injury. She shook her head no frantically, and squeezed her hands tightly in her lap. She realized after a moment that he didn't know her name, and tilted her head to look up at him.

"Hinata," she whispered, and Itachi gave her a slightly confused look. "M-My… my name. Hinata." He nodded and gave her a small smile, motioning for her to tell him what was wrong. "I-I'm not hurt," she told him slowly, licking her lips as she contemplated. He seemed nice enough, and that he wanted to truly know what was bothering her. "On the outside. B-But I am h-here." She pointed to her chest, trying to get the older boy to understand her plight. He nodded slowly, watching the Hyuuga. He seemed to comprehend, and she continued, "My heart hurts. M-My father… he wants me to be strong b-but… I'm weak. And h-he doesn't l-like his f-future heir t-to be w-weak…" She felt tears brim at her perfect, pearl colored eyes. "I-I think h-he hates m-me!"

Itachi ruffled her short hair and shot her a sympathetic smile. "I wish I could give you some of my strength. You deserve it more than I do." She shot him a perplexed expression. "And for the record, Hinata-chan, I like you." He gently wiped the tears from her face with his thumb, and she blushed at the close contact. The Uchiha asked her, "Would you like to be friends?"

She perked up. "Tr-Truly?" He nodded at her brightened face. "C-Could I… visit you w-whenever I w-want?" He shot her an answering smile.

"Whenever you're feeling down, or you need to talk, come find me. I'll try to be there even when I'm busy, okay?" Hinata watched the older boy for a moment, attempting to find a lie in his too sweet words. How could anyone be this nice, this caring? Her father was cold to her, like he was to everyone, and she didn't know her other relatives well enough to create a bond with them. Her sister was three, and Neji didn't like talking to her at all. So there was really no one she could form a friendship with. Despite her lack of expertise, she decided she could trust this young ANBU ninja.

"Yeah," she agreed, and yawned widely. The Uchiha smiled at her and stood up, holding the eight-year-old against his chest as he disappeared into the night, heading for the Hyuuga complex. He stopped before Hinata's open window and climbed in, setting the half asleep child gently on her bed. "Night, Itachi-sama," she told him with a sleepy smile, kissing his cheek affectionately before he let her go.

"Good-night, Hinata-chan," he replied, exiting through her window without another sound.

…**:oOo:…**

"Itachi-sama!" The ANBU glanced up to see his little Hinata running towards him, with a shocked and embarrassed looking Hiashi following behind. She wrapped her small arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. But her father pried his daughter away from the Uchiha, much to Itachi's annoyance. If the girl wanted to hug him, then she had full right to hug him, dammit.

The Hyuuga clan leader apologized, more out of necessity than desire, "I apologize for my daughter's rudeness, Uchiha-san, I don't know what got into her." Hinata flushed with shame at being the source of her father's discomfiture, and Itachi blinked.

"I don't mind, Hyuuga-sama," he told the white eyed man, kneeling down to Hinata's eye level. Itachi added, "Though, Hinata-chan and myself are quite good friends, so I suppose it'd be a normal occurrence wouldn't it?" The man didn't know quite what to sat in response to that, so he felt it to be more diplomatic to simply nod and smile. Hinata smiled shyly, bashful for her rash behavior seconds before. He asked the girl, "Hinata-chan, how has school been lately?"

Her father politely excused himself and entered back into the complex. She replied, looking at her shoes, "G-Good… E-Except…" Her expression fell, and she watched the ground. "A-At school… there's a Father-Daughter D-Day… b-but my Daddy c-can't come…" The Uchiha tapped his chin and shot the girl a smile.

"I'll go with you Hinata-chan," he told her thoughtfully, and she watched him for a moment, her head tilted to the side.

"But," she contradicted, "y-you're not my D-Daddy, Itachi-sama." She looked so defiant with her arms crossed over her chest that the Uchiha had to chuckle.

He asked, "Do you love me?"

She blinked, and then nodded. "You're my best friend."

"Then it's okay. When is it?" Smiling brightly, she pulled a blue colored pamphlet from her bag and handed it to him.

…**:oOo:…**

"Nii-san," Sasuke called as his brother walked into the door, running up to the ninja with a smile. Itachi nodded at him and shoved the paper into his bag quickly, the move going completely unnoticed by his younger brother. "Welcome home!"

"Hello, Sasuke," he greeted, ruffling his dark colored hair. He walked passed the younger boy into his room, but his mother was in there, putting laundry away for him. He entered the room and the woman turned around, giving him a smile. "Good evening, Mother."

She replied with a cheerful, "Hello Itachi." She put the last couple of pieces of clothing away and exited the room. Closing the door after her, the ninja sat on his bed, pulling the blue sheet out of his pouch and watched it for a moment, then smiled.

_The girl's father or male guardian should accompany her to this day of fun. However, if he cannot be present, then a close friend thirteen or older can accompany her._

"I believe I meet those requirements," he commented, smoothing the paper out and placing it in the top drawer of his dresser.


	2. Loss

**A/N**: Itachi is slightly pedophilic in this chapter, but I'm playing on the fact that he's slowly losing his sanity. That is what **I** think makes Itachi who he is…

Also, I'd like to thank Mystical-Dreamer57, Miss0made,  
Meibou, Hana, lya, animestargirl81, Rewy, Animegrrl1, and ChelseaChelseaJeanJean for reviewing!

Chapter 2: Loss

"_It hurts," she whimpers back, squeezing his fingers tightly. His crimson eyes examine her body for any injuries, and she shakes her head. Using her free hand, she slowly points to her chest. "My heart hurts."_

You cannot imagine the surprise Sasuke felt when his brother appeared at the school, dressed in a suit with the Uchiha symbol on its back. But his shock increased when said brother entered the room designated for the Father-Daughter Day. Slowly sneaking over to the door, he peeked in and saw that he was standing with that little white eyed Hyuuga girl, Hinata.

Sasuke blinked and stood there for a few long minutes, watching as all of the other suit clad fathers talked and chatted to their daughters. He saw that his brother seemed to be on relatively friendly terms with the girl; he was holding her and talking with her and making her smile, basically fulfilling the role of her absent father. The younger Uchiha moved away from the door to go back to training, glad that his brother could help someone outside of a mission.

…**:oOo:…**

"T-That was l-lots of fun Itachi-sama," Hinata told him quietly at the end of the day as he walked her back home, her hand in his. Her hand was so small that his enveloped it and she couldn't even reach her fingers to the back of his hand. She was kicking a stone along the sidewalk, sending it farther down the concrete and as they met it with it, kicked it again. "And I had the b-best ninja in the w-world help m-me!" She shot him a happy smile, and missed the pebble this time, leaving it behind.

Itachi nodded at her gesture. "I'm glad you had fun." His expression turned serious as they reached the Hyuuga complex, and he looked down at her, looking like he was fighting back his demons. She looked confused at his abrupt change in demeanor, and he queried, "Hinata-chan, would you love me no matter what?"

The little girl nodded. "I-I'll love you f-forever, Itachi-s-sama." He stopped moving and sat on his haunches so he was eye-level with the eight-year-old.

"Do you promise?" he pressed, tilting her face up with his hand under her chin. She nodded again. The ANBU ninja smiled. "I'll love you forever then, too." He kissed her and she flushed a deep red, though he didn't seem to notice as he stood up and took her to the door of the complex.

"I-Itachi-sama," she questioned, going around the houses so she could sneak in through her window again. Her father didn't know she was going to Father-Daughter day with anyone else, so he thought she had come home from school and gone straight to her room like usual. "W-Why… did y-you kiss m-me?"

He opened the window and helped her in, then climbed in after her. "Don't two people who love each other usually kiss?"

"Oh," she replied, feeling silly. "Thank you for walking me home." He smiled at her and kissed her once more before leaving for his own home, his mind lighter than it's ever been.

Everyday now, Hinata would wait after school until everyone else left, and Itachi would come to walk her home. As soon as they would arrive, he would kiss her good-bye, and then go either home or on a new mission. The Hyuuga heiress was ecstatic about the arrangement for she got to see Itachi almost everyday now.

"Itachi." The Uchiha glanced up to his mother as he walked through the front door of his home, just getting back from dropping Hinata off. She looked worried. "Is everything all right? Everyday you run off and disappear at the same time and come back home an hour later. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing," he replied, his voice monotonous. He pushed past his mother to go to his room, but she followed behind him, obviously not done yet.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly, watching him with hurt eyes. "You can talk to me Itachi; I **am** your mother, and I just want to help."

"I'm fine," he assured her, closing his bedroom door in her face slowly and lightly, acting normal. He didn't want to seem strange or different; that might make her even more suspicious.

…**:oOo:…**

"Itachi-sama."

The moonlight shone through a small patch of dark clouds, and as she glanced down to the young Hyuuga, he saw the light from the heavenly orb glow on her pale skin. She was truly a lovely creature; her pearl colored eyes that portrayed many emotions, her beryl colored hair cut into that boyishly short, kiddie style, and her pale skin, almost like porcelain.

He had snuck the little girl out of her room a few weeks after the confrontation with his mother. She was still positive that her son was up to something, nothing the abnormal changes in his behavior and daily schedule. She just couldn't figure out what the hell it was. And he knew that something had to be done the moment he mentioned it to his father.

"Hai, Hinata-chan?"

"Do you still love me?" She sounded vaguely skeptical, like she already knew the answer and was merely enforcing her thoughts.

He cocked an eyebrow and propped himself up on one elbow, a slight frown on his handsome features. "I told you forever didn't?" She smiled at sat up, repositioning herself to sit on her knees.

"Forever, forever?"

He chuckled. "Yes, forever, forever." She wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. He returned the hug, a heavy thought on his mind, his demons coming back to play. "Hinata-chan, I need to tell you something very important."

"Is it a secret, Itachi-sama?" She flopped back down onto the grass.

"Sort of…" He watched her big, lilac colored eyes, knowing it was going to be very hard to let her go. All other ties with Konoha were completely irrelevant; the only thing left that mattered was his little Hinata. "Remember that no matter what, I'll be your friend. And no matter where I go, or what I do, that'll never change."

She laughed. "I already knew that silly."

"That wasn't the secret." Her mouth turned into a tiny 'o' of realization, and grew quiet. "I'm going to do something very, very bad later tonight, and I'm going to have to leave Konoha because of it." Her eyes grew very wide, and they soon filled with tears.

She cried, "Why Itachi-sama? I don't want you to go!"

"I have to kill the bad people," he soothed, ruffling her blue hair. "They don't want me to love you anymore."

Hinata tried to digest this piece of information, and questioned very softly, "So I won't be able to see you anymore, starting tomorrow?"

"I'm going to come back for you, no matter how long it takes." She nodded and he pressed his wind-chapped lips to her soft pink ones, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Good-bye, Hinata-chan." But before he rendered her unconscious, she swore she saw a face in the woods, glaring furiously, and then her vision turned black.


	3. Gone

Chapter 3: Gone

_He soothes her, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "It's all right, Hinata-chan, I'm here now. You're safe." She buried her head into his chest, and his arms were tightly, protectively, around her._

"_Itachi-sama," she whispers, her voice full of tears, "why did you take so long?"_

When Hinata went to school the next day, she noticed two bizarre things. The first was that Sasuke was absent. If it had been any other student, it wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but Sasuke was never absent, even when he was sick. The second thing she noticed was that the teachers were talking in hushed voices, as if making sure their students had no idea what was going on. They looked appalled and afraid at the same time, and Hinata wondered if it had anything to do with her Itachi-sama.

Anxious, Hinata began to eavesdrop on their conversation, trying to ignore Sakura and Ino's disgruntled complaints that the object of their affections wasn't present. "…killed his entire family," one of the teachers whispered, her eyes wide.

"Except Sasuke," the other amended, running a hand through his blond hair. "Itachi left his younger brother alive. But the rest of the Uchihas were murdered by him." Hinata felt her throat tighten at the news, and her hands clamped on the sides of the book she was pretending to read.

Her voice came out as a barely even a whisper, "…No."

"Hinata?" Ino's tone broke through her thoughts. "You look really tense. What's wrong? Scary book?" Suddenly unable to control herself, she tossed her book aside, narrowly missing the blonde, and jumped out of her seat, past the teachers, and out of the classroom. She kept going despite her calls, her mind in a blur. It couldn't have been him, he had said he was going to kill bad people… Did he mean… his clan members were the bad people? She took the shortest road to the Uchiha District, and saw that there were ANB unit stationed all over the place. Yellow caution tape had been placed to prevent people from entering, but she didn't care. She had to find him.

She ducked under the yellow barrier and tried to get around the ninja, but a silver-haired ANBU grabbed her arm. "Let me go!" she cried, thrashing to get out of his grip, "Itachi-sama, where are you? Sasuke!" Manners and rules didn't seem to apply anymore. She wasn't a Hyuuga heiress right now, she was Hinata, Itachi's best friend, and she wouldn't stop until she knew what was going.

The man froze at her call, and watched her closely. "Are you friends with Sasuke?" he questioned and she stopped trying to break. She glanced up at him and nodded, though it was a flat out lie. Maybe if she found Sasuke, he'd know where Itachi was. "Okay, I'll take you to him. It'll be good for him to have some company." He took her hand and she resisted the urge to pull away. This man's hand was so different from Itachi's. The two walked past many bloody scenes to in the yard and house, and she was horrified. Did Itachi really do all of this?

The ANBU led her to the bloodiest room she'd seen so far, and in the middle of it all sat the last remaining Uchiha, Sasuke. He let go of her hand and took his leave as the little girl stood there, not knowing what to say or do for the little boy. He heard her footsteps as she had entered, and turned to see who was there. His black eyes were lifeless and empty, tears still wet on his pale cheeks. "Sa-Sasuke?" Hinata whispered, walking towards him and biting her lower lip in anxiety.

"You're Hinata… right?" he asked, his fists clenching ever so slightly. She nodded and he sent her a hateful look. She flinched and drew back in fear, not expecting such a vehement expression to be directed at her. She pressed her forefinger to her bottom lip, and he hissed, "Why did he love you so much more than his own family? Than me?!" The Hyuuga was uncertain as to what to say, wondering how he had found out. Then she remembered; the face, in the woods! That had been Sasuke!

Itachi had killed all of Sasuke's family for her, because he claimed to love her. Sasuke knew he must love her more than his entire clan, because they were dead and she was not. Hinata felt that she **should** be appalled or disgusted with Itachi for such a thing, but the only thing she could find was gratefulness. She had not idea what was wrong with her, her feelings were all topsy-turvy, backwards and upside down, all wrong! He had **killed **people, and all she could think about was how he had done it for her.

"Gomen nasai, Sasuke," she replied in a whisper, holding her hands tightly against her chest, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Gomen nasai."

…**:oOo:…**

After the infamous Uchiha massacre and the departure of Uchiha Itachi, Hinata became quiet and disconnected, not wanting another close friend. That spot was reserved for him, and only partially filled by the little-girl crush she gained on Uzumaki Naruto. When she had gotten home that day, she had packed a duffle bag full of clothes and a few precious possessions. Just in case he came and they could leave quickly.

But he never showed. Everyday she'd wait after school, her duffle bag on her shoulder, but he never came. Every night she'd place the bag by her bed and keep her window unlocked, just in case. She continued this ritual for four years, until she graduated from Ninja Academy and was put in a team with Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba.

She didn't truly give up, every year until she was seventeen she'd packed new clothes in the bag, but her hopes weren't sky high either.

…**:oOo:…**

Hinata stared out the window at the lightly falling December snow, vaguely remembering that he'd be about twenty-two now. Her hair was waist length, no longer in that awkward cut she'd had it in during her adolescents stages. Her eyes were the same as always because of her Hyuuga blood, but she had really grown up. The girl, now young woman, had soft curves and a nicely shaped body, but she hadn't noticed. She still wore a baggy jacket and Capri's, her shinobi headband tied around her neck.

A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door and she sighed, pulling her pearl gaze from the graceful flurries outside. "Come in father," she said softly, and the man entered, his face cold and calculating. Her twelve-year-old sister followed behind him, her hitai-ate gleaming on her forehead. So, her sister was a genin now it seemed, and Hinata didn't even need to pay attention to understand what was going on now. It was terribly obvious.

"It's almost your eighteenth birthday," Hiashi told her, but she turned her gaze instead to Hanabi, who looked apologetic and kind of sad. "And the time when you'd take charge of the clan. But I've decided that Hanabi has become a better choice to succeed me."

Hinata answered, not a single waver in her voice, "Hai, Tou-san."

"So you have options Hinata." He was talking with a voice full of authority like they weren't even related, which figuratively they weren't anymore. "Join as a Branch Member to the Hyuuga clan, or leave the complex, and never refer to yourself as a Hyuuga gain." Those were probably the two most dishonorable things a Main Branch Hyuuga could be offered, but to Hinata, it was like being offered freedom. Not a Hyuuga anymore? That sounded promising.

She stood up from her spot on the windowsill and walked to her closet, pulling out her pre-made bag. While slinging it over her shoulder, she told her father, "I'm leaving then, Hiashi-sama."

Hanabi gasped. "You planned for this?" She looked guilty despite everything. This was her sister after all.

Hinata shook her head. "Don't flatter yourself." She pushed past the two strangers and exited the room, walking proudly down the hallway to the entrance. The rest of the Hyuugas watched as she went, their eyes stating what none of them wanted to say. _We're better off._ That was all right, she never liked many of them anyway. Except…

"Hinata-sama?" She turned to see Neji standing behind her, looking confused. The Jounin walked towards her, his eyes flickering to her bag and then back to her face. "Do you have a mission?" Tears swelled up in her eyes and the thought of leaving him behind. She dropped her bag and hugged her cousin tightly, much to his obvious surprise.

She whispered, "I have to leave. Good-bye, Neji-nisan." Hinata pressed a kiss to his cheek and picked up her bag, her gait a little less assured than before she said farewell to her cousin. A hand rested on her shoulder and she turned around. The prodigy was standing there, hurt in his normally emotionless eyes.

"I'll miss you," he admitted softly, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. He lingered for a moment, and then he as gone, the feeling on his mouth on hers an already passing sensation. "Take care of yourself, and keep in touch." He brushed a hand against her cheek tenderly.

"I will." She claimed that, but she didn't mean it. When she said she was leaving, she meant truly leaving. Not planning to get another house in Konoha, exiting the village altogether. "Farewell, Neji-nisan. I'm sure Hanabi-san will make a fine leader when the time comes." Then she turned on heel and exited the building and the gate doors opened the wall around the complex. She saw Neji standing in the doorway of her old home, watching her go through the snowflakes. Hoping she'd change her mind and come back.

She wasn't going to, and she left the vicinity of the complex, heading through the falling flakes. The ex-heiress knew exactly was she needed to do. He wasn't coming for her, so she'd go find him herself. Her best friend, one long since gone. The blue haired girl was grateful that it was snowing, because most of her fellow ninja would be insides until the storm was over, and then come out for a snowball fight or two. She just didn't want to say good-bye anymore.

Hinata shivered slightly as she stood before the large gates of her village, still slightly unsure of her decision. The moment she left those gates she'd be considered a Nunekin-nin, unable to return to Konoha. Is that what she really wanted?

I'm going to come back for you, no matter how long it takes.

The words rang through her mind, and her determination was set. Ten years was much too long to be separated from someone you love, and Hinata felt and knew that all too well. Securing her bag on her shoulder and her shuriken and kunai holster on her leg, the blue haired girl leapt through the gates into the cold winter, the eyes of none watching her go.


	4. Unexplained

-1Chapter 4: Unexplained

"She's just **gone**?" Naruto asked in confusion, furrowing his brow as he regarded the Hyuuga prodigy with a slightly disbelieving tone. Neji nodded stiffly, his manner towards his cousin seemingly cold. The Hokage shook his head in incredulity and glanced out the window at the snow bank that had accumulated there, his deep blue eyes watching the flakes fall down in flurries around Konoha. "I don't understand," he admitted, turning back to the white eyed boy, his eyes slightly narrowed, "How did you see her go, and yet not try to stop her from leaving, Neji?"

The Jounin internally sighed and repeated for the fourth time, "I told you, Hokage-sama, I didn't know she'd be leaving the village in its entirety, I was under the impression she was merely parting from the complex, as were Hiashi-sama's orders to her." Naruto nodded and buried his face in his hands, wondering if this was really Hyuuga Hinata they were talking about. Because, seriously, did she actually have the guts to pull something like this off? It just seemed completely unlike the ex-heiress that Naruto had to be convinced that they weren't speaking of a different person entirely.

"Neji," he ordered, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I'm going to put together a team to go see if they can find her, and I want you to captain it, understand?" The brunet nodded and was grateful to Naruto for allowing him to go after his cousin. The Hokage stood up and dusted off his robes, shaking his head. "Who else… who else…?" He wracked his brain for three other candidates to go retrieve the Hyuuga girl. Most of them were busy doing other missions he knew, for the Mist village was getting a little too aggressive for comfort. Spy work, mostly, however… "Is Sasuke back from his mission in the Mist yet?" he questioned, and Neji nodded. "Okay this is a designated ANBU mission Neji. You, Sasuke, Kiba and Sakura. I'm sure you can live with them as your team. You and Kiba are great at retrieval and Sasuke is a great fighter, and Sakura is the best medical ninja we have. It'll balance out, if you and Sasuke can get alone."

The Hyuuga nodded and questioned, "Are you sure you want to send your wife on this mission so soon after giving birth, Hokage-sama?" The Uzumaki blinked for a moment, then smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"There's really no other choice, Neji," he replied, shrugging. "We don't have any other free medical ninja and depending on where you guys may be headed you might need one, you know?" Naruto shook hands with Neji and told him, "Go get Hinata-chan back, dattebayo!" He nodded and bowed, exiting the room and preparing to go get his other teammates for the mission. When he left, Naruto slumped into his chair, running a hand through the blond spikes on his head as he felt his heart drop. He sure as hell didn't want Sakura on this mission, but what was he to do? Duty came before everything; he was the Hokage long before he was a husband and a father, and he would do well to remember that.

…**:oOo:…**

A loud series of thuds ran out from a dully lit training field, the occupant barely seen due to their insane speed through the clearing. Kunai seemed to inbed themselves in the trees, the hand that threw them gone in a flash soon after the release. A tee shirt had been shed despite the freezing weather, the symbol on the back depicting a red and white fan on the cloth. Sasuke slid to a stop when he heard footsteps crunching in the snow, coming towards him and he readied a handful of kunai, his Sharingan activated.

"Uchiha," a cold voice said from his right, and he flung a kunai with precision at the voice, only to hear the clang of metal against metal when his attack was swiftly blocked.

The black haired man glared over at the figure and questioned icily, "What do you want Hyuuga?" Neji said nothing, just tossed Sasuke's shirt to him and motioned the man to follow him. Without a qualm the Uchiha did just that, pulling on the slightly snow dampened shirt and picking up his scroll pouch from the snow beside it. Neji didn't wear that expression all of the time, Sasuke knew, so there must be a mission involved somewhere behind that poker face. That was fine with him, training all of the time was pointless if he didn't have a way to see how much better he's gotten. Sparing with that dobe only go him so far; the real test would be when he saw Itachi again. He'd kill that bastard no matter who got in his way. "Who eles are we getting Hyuuga? What's the mission?" he questioned as they headed back through the streets of te village, and Neji glanced back at him.

"Haruno Sakura and Inuzuka Kiba." There was absolute silence between them save for the sound of snow being crushed beneath their feet. Sasuke, an eyebrow cocked, waiting for the mission to be iterated to him. Neji shook his head and replied, "I'll explain everything when we get the other, Uchiha." Shrugging his acceptance, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets as he followed along the older ninja, watching many of the village children playing with each other in the snow, some of the girls staring at the elegantly dressed Neji or ogling at the handsome Sasuke, and the others were throwing snowballs at each other, making snow angels, and simply being children. Sasuke was loath to admit he slightly envied them. They had their childhoods ahead of them. He never had his.

…**:oOo:…**

The four ANBU sat in Sakura and Naruto's house, watching their leader with shielded anticipation, eager for the new mission to undertake. Sakura had a tiny blond baby in her lap, softly sleeping with a hand around the blanket he was wrapped in. She and Sasuke were sitting on the black leather couch in the Uzumaki living room, with Kiba on the floor leaning against Akamaru and Neji standing before them, waiting for them to settle down so he could begin briefing. "Hokage-sama assigned the four of us," he motioned to all of them for effect. "To capture the missing-nin, Hinata Hyuuga." Kiba's jaw dropped in shock, having know Hinata the longest out of almost all of them.

"You can't be serious!" he sputtered, jumping up as Akamaru accompanied him with a growl. "Hinata would **never** do something like that! What the hell is going on Neji? What's Naruto thinking?!" The group was silent as they watched Kiba; Sakura with an anxious expression, Sasuke with a rather indifferent one, and Neji with a blank one. When his question met no response, the brunet sat down with a sour expression, an irrefutable, straining urge to throw something through a window. Once his outburst had been silenced, the Hyuuga continued with his detailing.

He started, "Hokage-sama was specific about our team. He said that Kiba and I are excellent in tracking, Sakura is the best medical ninja we have, so she was obviously chosen," the pink haired girl flushed with pleasure, "and Sasuke is a cunning and powerful shinobi." His pearl eyes flickered to the Uchiha for a moment before continuing. "So he was chosen as well. Our orders are simple. Find Hyuuga Hinata at all costs, dead or alive." Sasuke's eyes flickered for barely a moment at that statement. _Dead or alive, huh?_

She was the one. That was the girl who stole his brother's love from his family but… what was he supposed to do now? She was a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village, he couldn't just off her with no good reason. Besides he didn't… he didn't want her to die anyway. After the massacre she had been sobbing her apologies left and right; her slightly outgoing demeanor had been nipped in the bud because of the trauma. Was she really at fault? Did she deserve his scorn because his brother had decided to play pedophile and find a tiny girl to mess with? He didn't know, he didn't know what to think anymore. It hurt too much. His eyes trailed to Sakura, talking with Kiba and watched her for a moment, his black eyes examining her.

She used to love him, he remembered, back in their childhood when all she had was a silly crush and nothing more. Yet someone, when he killed Orochimaru and came back to the village of his own volition only to see her with Naruto, he felt like he had been robbed blind. He sighed and glanced to the ceiling. None of that mattered anymore. His brother was going to di, and they were going to get Hinata back. _Hinata…_ It seemed she was all he had left of his back now, and though he couldn't explain why, he felt he needed her more than anything in the world.

…**:oOo:…**

"Thank y-you very much f-for the room," a soft voice came from under a blue hood, holding out a handful of money to pay him for the room. The man took the money from a soft feminine hand and watched as the shapely girl left the building, realizing that she had a shinobi headband around her neck.

He mumbled to himself," Don't get those ninja types around here very often…" The girl pulled down her hood as she got outside, long dark blue hair blowing very slightly as the wind picked up around her. Her white eyes examined the dilapidated old town, feeling sorry for the inhabitants that could hardly get a meager meal for themselves three times a day. Hinata's Byakugan saw a sly hand slip into her scroll pouch and turned swiftly around, catching the pickpocket's hands before he could make off with her money pouch.

He was filthy and his clothes were tearing at the seams, making her heart break into a thousand pieces when she realized what a fortunate life she had been living not too long ago. "I-If you want," she told the boy kindly, "I c-can give you some…" He blinked for a moment before wrenching his arm out of her grasp, dropping the bag and running off through the crowd. Hinata sighed and put the money back, hiking her bag higher on her shoulder as she ran off, leaving the town in a few short seconds. She headed north, towards the Village Hidden in the Mist. A somewhat reliable source told her that he had heard a few men in cloaks like the ones she descried talking about going up that way before heading to Konoha for something. She knew he couldn't be lying, because the Akatsuki were after Kyuubi in Naruto, so they were eventually go to the Leaf Village.

She slowed down at the thought of the blond boy, her heart aching ever so slightly. After Itachi had left, Naruto had come into her life with an explosion of hyperactivity and ramen. He had been everything she wasn't, everything she wanted to be as a person. Maybe it was a second wave of love, or maybe she was lovesick, missing Itachi. Whatever the case, Naruto had been someone she had wanted to be with the moment she saw him. The years passed, and she never acted on her feelings, though she convinced herself that it was because she promised her love to Itachi forever. One day, Naruto asked out Sakura and she agreed, her feelings for Uchiha Sasuke long gone now. That was that. The two were married a year later, eighteen years old, Sakura pregnant and Naruto just awarded the position of Hokage. The happiest days of their lives, Hinata not included.

But she wasn't worried about it anymore. She was set on getting to the Mist as te same time as the older Uchiha so she could find him there, so she could see him again, one more time. He was a Nunekin-nin, one of the most dangerous men in the country, and she was completely and totally in love with him. "Itachi-sama," she sighed, slowing down to a walk as the sun began to rise, her eyes set on the beautiful horizon. "I'm going t-to find you."


End file.
